Court crisis in Bergen County nears end as N.J. lawmakers agree on six of seven judicial nominees

By MICHAEL PHILLIS

State house Bureau |

The Record

Bergen County’s state senators said Thursday they were all but finished with their deal to move seven backlogged judicial nominations and end a stalemate that has threatened to all but shut down the court system in the county.

“It appears to me they are moving in the right direction to get something done,” said Sen. Kevin O’Toole, R-Wayne.

The new state Superior Court judges for Bergen County could be confirmed by next month, O’Toole said.

Democratic Sen. Paul Sarlo of Wood-Ridge agreed, as did several others, including Senate President Stephen Sweeney.

“They’re close. I think they’re very close to getting them all,” said Sweeney, who has the power to schedule hearings on nominations once Governor Christie publicly offers the names for approval.

Part of the impasse over nominations hinged on the informal practice known as senatorial courtesy, which allows senators to block nominees from their home counties. The practice is private and allows senators to hold nominees without stating a reason.

Senators said Thursday that they had agreed to six of seven possible nominees. Democrats said that it was Republicans who were fighting over that final name.

“The reality is that filling vacancies in some counties is far more complex than in others,” Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said Wednesday.

“The practice of senatorial courtesy — which is seldom courteous — still plays an outsize role in the process and can hold up reasonable negotiations and accommodations to get whole packages of judges through to fill vacancies,” Drewniak said. “Nonetheless, we have succeeded in many counties, and we will continue our part in bringing judicial ranks up to optimum levels”

Bergen County Assignment Judge Peter Doyne broke open the nomination issue last week with a notice to attorneys that said that if some new judges weren’t appointed to fill the vacancies by mid-September he would have to delay complicated family and civil trials. That would have an especially harsh effect on certain divorce trials and civil lawsuits.

One Republican senator placed blame on Christie, saying he should clear the names already agreed to by lawmakers.

“The adult way to handle this issue right now would be for the governor to nominate six that have no questions,” Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Cresskill, said. “All six would go through — six out of seven.”

While some of the vacancies in Bergen County are not new, two spots opened up over the last few months. Cardinale said six candidates have been ready since June and that senators have “continually added judges over the years.”

In a long-standing agreement among the senators from Bergen, each party controls a certain number of nominees, and Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, said that her party has been fine with their selections. The issue — that seventh spot — is on the Republican side, she said.

Statewide there are about 50 vacancies for Superior Court judges.

On Monday the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet to consider eight nominations for Superior Court in Essex County, another long-delayed package of nominations. The full Senate is to consider those nominations later that day.

The committee’s chairman, Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, said this week that he had not heard from Doyne about the vacancy issue before the letter was published on Aug. 4. He also said many retired judges had been recalled to help fill gaps caused by the vacancies.

Superior Court in Bergen County has a total of 36 judicial slots, of which seven are vacant. That will increase to nine by September.

Doyne said that he had a meeting with all five Bergen County senators last summer and had informally alerted them to the coming problem.

“I think, informally, all the senators were aware,” Doyne said.

Cardinale criticized Doyne for how he reacted to the vacancies.

“I really don’t understand the assignment judge’s aggressiveness at this point in time,” Cardinale said.

“I do not believe the courts are crippled. I do not believe the Bergen County court system is overworked.”

Doyne rejected that criticism.

“I think the suggestion that judges are not busy is difficult to understand,” Doyne said. “Family courts are already very busy, and we are doing our best to use our resources fairly.”

Doyne was “very appropriate in raising the flag that this needs to be dealt with as far as I’m concerned,” Weinberg said.

Court crisis in Bergen County nears end as N.J. lawmakers agree on six of seven judicial nominees

Bergen County’s state senators said Thursday they were all but finished with their deal to move seven backlogged judicial nominations and end a stalemate that has threatened to all but shut down the court system in the county.

“It appears to me they are moving in the right direction to get something done,” said Sen. Kevin O’Toole, R-Wayne.

The new state Superior Court judges for Bergen County could be confirmed by next month, O’Toole said.

Democratic Sen. Paul Sarlo of Wood-Ridge agreed, as did several others, including Senate President Stephen Sweeney.

“They’re close. I think they’re very close to getting them all,” said Sweeney, who has the power to schedule hearings on nominations once Governor Christie publicly offers the names for approval.

Part of the impasse over nominations hinged on the informal practice known as senatorial courtesy, which allows senators to block nominees from their home counties. The practice is private and allows senators to hold nominees without stating a reason.

Senators said Thursday that they had agreed to six of seven possible nominees. Democrats said that it was Republicans who were fighting over that final name.

“The reality is that filling vacancies in some counties is far more complex than in others,” Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said Wednesday.

“The practice of senatorial courtesy — which is seldom courteous — still plays an outsize role in the process and can hold up reasonable negotiations and accommodations to get whole packages of judges through to fill vacancies,” Drewniak said. “Nonetheless, we have succeeded in many counties, and we will continue our part in bringing judicial ranks up to optimum levels”

Bergen County Assignment Judge Peter Doyne broke open the nomination issue last week with a notice to attorneys that said that if some new judges weren’t appointed to fill the vacancies by mid-September he would have to delay complicated family and civil trials. That would have an especially harsh effect on certain divorce trials and civil lawsuits.

One Republican senator placed blame on Christie, saying he should clear the names already agreed to by lawmakers.

“The adult way to handle this issue right now would be for the governor to nominate six that have no questions,” Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Cresskill, said. “All six would go through — six out of seven.”

While some of the vacancies in Bergen County are not new, two spots opened up over the last few months. Cardinale said six candidates have been ready since June and that senators have “continually added judges over the years.”

In a long-standing agreement among the senators from Bergen, each party controls a certain number of nominees, and Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, said that her party has been fine with their selections. The issue — that seventh spot — is on the Republican side, she said.

Statewide there are about 50 vacancies for Superior Court judges.

On Monday the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet to consider eight nominations for Superior Court in Essex County, another long-delayed package of nominations. The full Senate is to consider those nominations later that day.

The committee’s chairman, Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, said this week that he had not heard from Doyne about the vacancy issue before the letter was published on Aug. 4. He also said many retired judges had been recalled to help fill gaps caused by the vacancies.

Superior Court in Bergen County has a total of 36 judicial slots, of which seven are vacant. That will increase to nine by September.

Doyne said that he had a meeting with all five Bergen County senators last summer and had informally alerted them to the coming problem.

“I think, informally, all the senators were aware,” Doyne said.

Cardinale criticized Doyne for how he reacted to the vacancies.

“I really don’t understand the assignment judge’s aggressiveness at this point in time,” Cardinale said.

“I do not believe the courts are crippled. I do not believe the Bergen County court system is overworked.”

Doyne rejected that criticism.

“I think the suggestion that judges are not busy is difficult to understand,” Doyne said. “Family courts are already very busy, and we are doing our best to use our resources fairly.”

Doyne was “very appropriate in raising the flag that this needs to be dealt with as far as I’m concerned,” Weinberg said.